When All The Stars Were Falling
by Anatheia
Summary: Turns out she wasn't talking to herself at all.


She remembered Master Yen Sid's words, about the stars. How when the hearts of the worlds were stolen, the stars would wink out. From the Realm of Darkness, all she could see were stars. She wasn't able to tell how much time had passed, but that was something she could see. The stars were going out, one by one. Whatever had happened to Terra...it wasn't good. Because the stars just kept going out.

_When all the stars were falling, _

_I reached up like you said. _

Aqua never cried. Even when everything felt hopeless. She just sat, and watched the stars go out. Sometimes she fought, and when she did, she felt alive again. But the Heartless creatures would fade back into the Darkness as the strength of her heart pushed them away. Then she would sit, and wait for another star to disappear.

_All the stars were falling, _

_One hit me in the head, _

_And I fell down, down, down. _

She laid in the sand, and stared up into the sky. Mark of Mastery, Master Eraqus's keyblade, lay beside her, held loosely in her hand. Her own keyblade, like the armor it summoned, was long gone, somewhere in the Realm of Light, with Terra, wherever he was. Whatever he was doing. Had she succeeded? Was Terra even alive? She didn't know, and wondered if she ever would.

_I fell down, down._

"You shouldn't think like that. There's always a way. They wouldn't want you to give up." Aqua sighed, and closed her eyes, answering the voice with her own. "What way? Terra could be dead, Ven could be too. How long can he survive without food, or water? How long can he sleep without his heart?" she asked. "I don't know." the other voice said softly, and sounded sad.

_When all the stars were falling, _

_They fell from above._

"So why shouldn't I give up? Why keep fending them off? I could just lie here, and let them take my heart. It would be easy." Aqua admitted. "Of course it would be. But just because it's easy, that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do." the other voice was clearly the voice of reason. "So? Lots of people don't do the right thing. Isn't that how we ended up here?" Aqua asked, thinking of Vanitas, of Xehanort.

_And I thought of hate, and I thought of hate, _

_And then I thought of love. _

Then she thought of Master Eraqus, lending his strength to Terra's heart. The voice laughed softly. "That's how you ended up here. I took a different path." the voice said, and Aqua blinked. She lurched up in the sand, staggering to her feet, and brandishing her keyblade in one hand. "Who are you?!" she asked, shocked. She had thought, for all the world, that she was conversing with herself.

_And I fell down, down, down, I fell down, down. _

There was a young man standing behind her. "Who am I?" he asked, and laughed a little, brushing his silver hair off his face. "I'm not sure. It's hard to remember some things...other things, they're clear as glass." he sighed, and the long bangs fell back in his face, hiding one cerulean eye. "What's your name?" he asked. "Aqua." she replied after a moment. He nodded, almost absently. "Pretty." he commented, and she blushed, lowering her keyblade.

_And I've learned how to dance from a vincent van gogh, _

_And the nights were wrapped in a white sheet._

"How long have you been in the Realm of Darkness?" Aqua asked. "Not sure." he admitted, and looked down at himself. He wore a lab coat over jeans, a white shirt underneath it. "It's funny...I remember being a child in this place, but now I am a man. Maybe I've been here a very long time." he shrugged. "What about you, Aqua? How long have you been here?" the silver haired young man asked. He had a very serious face, without even a hint of a smile.

_And now no one even says hello, _

_'cause I couldn't stand on my two feet._

"Not sure either. It feels like forever, and at the same time, it's like there's no time at all here. I don't think I've gotten older. My hair hasn't grown." she said after touching her blue hair, still just at the back of her neck. "Perhaps time here is subjective." the young man stated.

_I fell down _

_I fell down. _

"What does that mean?" Aqua frowned. He pondered for a moment, wondering how to put the theory into layman's terms for her. "Time only passes when we decide it has passed. Perhaps I came to this place as a child, and felt that only a man could survive in it. My time passed; I became an adult. You haven't thought about it, so your time passes slower." he explained. Aqua frowned a little, then nodded. "I think I understand." she said finally, and at last, he gave the tiniest of smiles.

_Now the peace you will find, in your own you have found, _

_The lights of the city are the stars on the ground. _

"You must have been a good student." he stated, and she blushed. "I was. I'm a Keyblade Master you know." she stated. The words made him frown, and he stared up, thinking deeply. "Keyblade. I thought your weapon looked familiar. I've seen one before. Not that one, of course, but something similar." he stated. "Really? Where? Do you remember?" she asked excitedly, and he held up a hand to stall her questions.

_'I may not be a quaalude living in a speed zone,' _

_But I could be restful, I could be someone's home._

"It was somebody I worked with. He had it. I remember..." he trailed off, staring out over the water for a long moment. "He...he attacked me." he said softly, and Aqua drew back, giving a shocked gasp. "No!" she denied, swallowing around a lump of fear in her throat. "Yes. He...he produced a keyblade, and struck them down. Us. Me. He...he took something." he frowned, one hand lifting to touch his chest, where his heart should have been.

_If I fell down. _

"Your Heart. He took your Heart. That's how you got here." Aqua said solemnly. He looked at her, then nodded slowly. "Yes, I think so." he said calmly. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault." Aqua sighed. "No. It's alright. You helped, actually." he stated, and she lifted her brows, surprised. "I did?" she asked. "Yes. I remember my name." the young man stated. "What's your name?" Aqua smiled. He returned the smile, and slowly, his lab coat began to darken, turning black.

_And I fell down, down._

"When I came here, my name was something else...but now...it's Zexion." he stated, and held out his hands, a thick tome appearing in his grasp, a strange sigil on the front. Slowly, a black portal appeared behind him, and Aqua backed away from the door to the Lanes Between, lacking her armor. Zexion lifted his hood with one hand, and smiled a little at her. "Goodbye, Aqua. I'll tell Xehanort you said hello." Aqua gasped, and reached for him, but he stepped back, and was gone. Aqua fell to her knees in the sand, and at last, she wept.

_Now all the stars have fallen._

(song; Lisa Loeb's When All The Stars Were Falling)


End file.
